While cross country is on the cusp of producing its state champions (see story), the postseason fun has just begun in volleyball, field hockey and soccer with the football playoffs about to commence as well.

There have already been upsets, overtimes and dominant performances and this week figures to be action-packed throughout.

Buckle up, as here’s a glimpse at how city teams are faring:

Volleyball

Yarmouth’s volleyball team is the last team standing.

Again.

The Clippers, the five-time reigning state champion, ranked third in Class B, had no trouble advancing to the state semifinals, blanking both No. 14 Westbrook (25-14, 25-20, 25-23) and No. 6 Falmouth (25-20, 25-17, 25-20) in the preliminary and quarterfinal rounds respectively. Against the Blue Blazes, Ella Cameron had 15 kills and Laila Brewer added eight assists. In the victory over the Navigators, Grace Keaney had 11 kills and Norah Lushman served up four aces.

Yarmouth (12-4) has a semifinal round showdown at No. 2 York (13-2) Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The Clippers are undefeated all-time versus the Wildcats. That includes wins this year at York (3-2) and at home (3-1). Yarmouth is 2-0 against the Wildcats in the postseason, with a 3-0 win in the 2022 semifinals the most recent.

If the Clippers advance to their sixth straight Class B state match, it will be held Saturday at 6:30 p.m., at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland. Yarmouth would face either top-ranked Washington Academy (15-0) or No. 5 Cape Elizabeth (12-4). The Clippers lost twice to the Raiders this season by 3-0 scores but are 2-0 all-time against them in the tournament, including last year’s 3-1 state match victory. Yarmouth split with the Capers this fall, winning at home in five games and losing at Cape Elizabeth in four sets. The Clippers are 3-1 all-time versus the Capers in the postseason, with a 3-2 victory in the 2021 state match the most recent.

Falmouth, which entered the playoffs on a six-match win streak, blanked No. 11 Gardiner (25-17, 25-18, 25-8) in the preliminary round, then was eliminated in three games by Yarmouth to finish the year 10-6.

Greely, the No. 7 seed, was on an even bigger surge, winning its final nine regular season matches. The Rangers then blanked No. 10 Ellsworth in the preliminary round before bowing out with a 3-1 loss at York to finish the season 11-5.

North Yarmouth Academy went 1-13 this fall and didn’t qualify for the playoffs.

Field hockey

Freeport’s field hockey team, the reigning state champion, finished first in Class B South with a first-ever perfect regular season mark (14-0). The Falcons hosted No. 8 Lake Region (5-9) Tuesday in the quarterfinals. Freeport won the regular season meeting, 4-0, Sept. 17 in Naples. The Falcons are 2-1 versus the Lakers in the playoffs, with a 4-0 semifinal round victory a year ago the most recent.

If, as expected, Freeport reaches the semifinals for the third year in a row, it will welcome No. 4 York (8-6) or No .5 Fryeburg Academy (8-6) Saturday.

Yarmouth won its final 13 regular season games and earned the No. 2 seed in Class B South at 13-1. The Clippers hosted No. 7 Poland (3-10-1) in the quarterfinals Tuesday. Yarmouth won the regular season meeting, 5-0 at home Sept. 25. The teams split two prior playoff meetings with the Knights’ 2-1 victory in the 2017 semifinals the most recent.

If the Clippers move on to Saturday’s semifinals, they will play host to No. 3 Gray-New Gloucester/North Yarmouth Academy (12-2) or No. 6 Greely (6-7-1).

The Rangers and GNG/NYA played in the regular season finale last Monday, won by host GNG/NYA, 2-1. Their quarterfinal was contested Tuesday.

The Class B South Final is next Wednesday, at Falmouth High School.

In Class A South, Falmouth downed visiting Windham, 3-1, in its finale last Tuesday to wind up 9-5 and sixth in the region. Ani Bush, Allie Sweetser and Lily Young scored for the Navigators. Falmouth goes to No. 3 Gorham (10-4) for the quarterfinals Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. The Rams won the regular season meeting, 2-0, Sept. 21 in Falmouth. The Navigators have won just one of four prior playoff encounters. The most recent came in the 2019 quarterfinals ,a 3-1 Gorham win.

If Falmouth springs the upset, it will go to No. 2 Biddeford (12-2) or host No. 7 Windham (9-6) for the semifinals Saturday.

The Class A South Final is next Wednesday at Falmouth High School.

Boys’ soccer

All five local boys’ soccer teams made the playoffs, but one has already been sent home.

In Class A South, Falmouth finished with the No. 2 seed after a solid 11-2-1 season. The Navigators host No. 7 Biddeford (10-5) Wednesday in the quarterfinals. Falmouth won, 2-0, at the Tigers Sept. 27. The teams had no playoff history.

If the Navigators advance, they’ll host either No. 3 Scarborough (12-1-1) or No. 6 Deering (8-6-1) in the semifinals Friday or Saturday.

The Class A South Final is next Tuesday in Waterboro.

In Class B South, Greely capped a 13-0-1 regular season (its first unbeaten campaign in 40 years) with a 7-0 home victory over Wells last Tuesday. Bez Mendelsohn scored twice and Max Allen, Sam Anania, Kannon Crocker, Owen Piesik and Mason Rogers all added one goal.

The Rangers earned the top seed for the first time since 1985 and welcome No. 8 Fryeburg Academy (8-6-1) for the quarterfinals Wednesday at 5 p.m. Greely beat the visiting Raiders, 5-1, Sept. 9. The Rangers won the lone prior playoff encounter, 3-0, in the 2019 quarterfinals.

If, as expected, Greely advances, it will host either No. 4 Cape Elizabeth (9-4-1) or No. 5 Lincoln Academy (8-4-2) Saturday in the semifinals.

Yarmouth, the four-time reigning state champion and winners of eight of the previous nine Class B championships, ended up 11-1-2 and second in the region following last Tuesday’s 2-1 victory at Cape Elizabeth in the regular season finale. Luis Cardoso and Owen Hayes scored goals in a three-minute span as the Clippers closed on an seven-game win streak and posted double digit regular season victories for the 12th consecutive non-COVID campaign.

“There’s always pressure to win,” said senior captain and midfielder Zach Lattanzi. “Eight of the last nine is some crazy stuff, but we like where we are.”

“You can never roll in here and expect there to ever be an easy game against Cape,” said Yarmouth’s first-year coach Justin Morrill. “It’s always going to be a battle. It’s fun and these are the tune-ups we want going into playoffs. It was a playoff-type feel. I would have liked to have found another (goal) in the other 77 minutes, but we took the two and held on to them. We knew this was going to be a big game from Heal Points standpoint.”

The Clippers host No. 7 Gray-New Gloucester (7-6-2) in the quarterfinals Wednesday at 6 p.m. Yarmouth won the regular season encounter, 3-0, Sept. 9 in Gray. The Clippers are 5-1 all-time in the postseason versus the Patriots, with a 4-0 victory in the 2019 quarterfinals the most recent.

Yarmouth isn’t the top seed for the first time since 2016, but good luck denying the Clippers another date with destiny.

“We’re a determined group,” said Lattanzi. “We know we have history and we want to maintain that history, to keep our legacy going.”

“Literally from day one, these seniors have wanted it pretty badly,” Morrill said. “Some of them had a hard time finding playing time in previous years. They kept their focus and intensity throughout the entire season. We needed to do our part to make a case for that number two seed. I like the idea how if we keep winning, we’ll play at home until the regional final. It’s just got to be about focus at practice, being locked in. We have to execute our game plan and never lose focus on the field. We have to be locked in for a full 80 minutes.”

If Yarmouth advances to the semifinals Saturday, it will host either No. 3 Morse (11-1-2) or sixth-ranked York (7-6-1).

The Class B South Final is next Wednesday in Fryeburg.

Freeport, ranked 10th in Class B South, was knocked out by No. 7 Gray-New Gloucester, 2-0, in the preliminary round last weekend to wind up 3-11-1.

“I thought (Gray-New Gloucester) played really, really well,” Falcons’ first-year coach Peter Mills said. “I thought that’s a good team and we traded a ton of chances, played really hard, played really physical. Couldn’t score it, and they did, but we played. I was really proud of our performance.”

Girls’ soccer

Everyone was still in the title hunt on the girls’ side at press time.

In Class A South, Falmouth capped its 9-3-2 regular season with a 3-0 win at Noble last week. The Navigators, ranked fifth for the playoffs, then made quick work of No. 12 in the preliminary round last Friday. Margo Hesson and Hadley scored in the first half, then Gwen Long and Hesson added second half goals for a 4-0 victory.

“We never overlook anyone,” Long said. “We know we should ever underestimate a team.”

“The girls did a great job keeping the tempo up,” added Navigators coach Ben Johnson. “I was impressed with them. At this time of year, it’s easy to get tired or burned out, but the soccer quality they played, I’m just so happy.”

Falmouth went to No. 4 Cheverus (10-2-2) for the quarterfinals Tuesday (see our website for game story). The teams tied, 1-1, in the regular season and split two prior playoff meetings, with the Stags’ 6-0 victory in the 2018 Class A South quarterfinals the most recent.

“We just need to come out with a mentality to win,” Long said. “We have to play as a team.”

“We have confidence, but the job is not done,” said Hesson.

“They’ve been on a tear and they have quality players all over the field,” added Johnson, about the Stags. “It’s going to be high stress the entire time. It should be a great game. We’re playing on grass and their field is smaller, so we’ll have less time to run. We’ll train for it and see what happens.”

If the Navigators advanced to the semifinals, they’ll go to No. 1 Windham (12-1-1) or host No. 8 Kennebunk (8-3-4) Friday or Saturday.

The Class A South Final is next Tuesday in Waterboro.

In Class B South, Greely closed with a 3-1 victory at Wells last week to finish first with a 10-0-4 record, its first unbeaten regular season since 2000. The Rangers hosted the eighth-ranked Warriors (7-8) in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. The teams had no playoff history.

If Greely advanced as expected, it would host No. 4 Morse (6-7-1) or No. 5 Yarmouth (6-4-4) in the semifinals Saturday.

Freeport finished third in Class B South with a 9-3-2 mark. The Falcons hosted No. 6 Lincoln Academy (5-6-3) in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. Freeport beat the host Eagles, 2-0, Oct. 3. The Falcons won both prior playoff meetings with a 4-0 win in the 2019 quarterfinals the most recent.

If Freeport moves on to the semifinals for the second straight year, it would go to No. 2 Cape Elizabeth (10-1-3) or host No. 7 Fryeburg Academy (8-7) Saturday.

The Clippers, the two-time reigning state champions, closed the regular season with a 1-0 home loss to Cape Elizabeth last week. Yarmouth and Morse didn’t play this year. In the teams’ lone prior playoff meeting, the Clippers prevailed, 2-0, in last year’s quarterfinals.

Football

The football regular season came to an end last weekend.

Falmouth made history in Oakland, holding off host Messalonskee, 31-14, to finish 8-0, the first perfect mark in program annals. The Navigators clung to a 17-14 lead in the fourth quarter before quarterback Tres Walker hit Gio Guerrette for a 67-yard touchdown and Ben Robbins returned a punt 66-yards to the house to put it away.

“We’re unbelievably excited,” said Walker, who threw for 186 yards and three TDs. “First time in history, Falmouth has never (had an undefeated regular season), so it’s very exciting to be part of a team that does it, especially coming from last year.”

“I’ve known we’ve had the talent all year to do it,” said senior running back Indi Backman, who had 88 yards on nine carries. “We knew that we were capable of doing it. We believe in ourselves and we work hard every day to achieve our goals.”

“It’s just nice to see these guys rewarded because they worked super hard,” first-year coach Spencer Emerson added. “We really ask a lot of them and they practice hard, we coach hard, we love hard. I think just to be rewarded with a season that comes with the collective effort they put in was really nice.

“At the end of the day, we take a 1-0 approach: A 1-0 play, go 1-0 in this practice and go 1-0 in this week. I don’t think of it from the macro sense of expectations. I knew we were going to play hard and I knew we had athletes. I think (this season) is just the right team, at the right time, with the right coaching staff. We’ve done a good job so far.”

Falmouth earned a bye into the semifinals and will host a playoff game Nov. 8. The Navigators have never been beyond the regional final round, but this team has what it takes to make even more history.

“This 8-0 is awesome, but it means nothing,” said Backman. “The playoffs are here and it’s time to roll.”

Freeport wound up 5-3 and fourth after downing visiting Poland, 28-6, to stretch its win streak to four games. Teddy Peters’ 5-yard touchdown run made it 7-0 Falcons after one quarter and Peters scored on a 9-yard scamper for a 14-0 halftime advantage. Freeport put it away in the third period, as Peters scored on an 8-yard run and Ben Bolduc raced in from the 6. The Knights got on the board in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough.

The Falcons will be the No. 4 seed for the Class D South playoffs and will host No. 5 Oak Hill (5-3) in the quarterfinals Friday night. The teams didn’t meet this season. The teams met just once before in the playoffs, a 41-12 Freeport victory in the 2022 quarterfinals.

In eight-man action, Greely, the reigning large school South region, capped the regular season on a seven-game surge and wound up 7-1 with a 44-14 win at Morse last Friday. Noah Allen scored on a 13-yard run, then added a two-point conversion rush, and Ben McCarron broke away for an 85-yard score for a 14-0 lead after one quarter. After Shipbuilders broke through, Andrew Padgett’s 2-yard run and Allen’s two-point conversion rush made it 22-6 at the half. In the third period, Padgett scored from 22-yards out and Allen broke off a 40-yard score for a 36-6 advantage. After Morse got a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, a 42-yard TD run from Dominic Martone accounted for the final score.

“Morse was a tough opponent,” said Rangers coach Caleb King. “We knew we couldn’t overlook them and they gave us a good fight. They have some tough kids and hung around with us early. Fortunately for us, we were able to bust some big runs and pull away. Benny had a great run, breaking several tackles for our opening score. Noah also had two really hard runs. Andrew ran two scores in for us and he has been as consistent as they come. We finished the season with the number one defense in (our region), with opponents averaging under 16 points per game compared to our 37.5 points per game. We rushed for over 2,000 yards through eight games and passed for over 1,000, which I am pretty pleased with in terms of balance.”

The Rangers will be the second seed in the region and have a quarterfinal round bye this weekend.

Yarmouth finished 2-6 with a 50-12 loss at Mt. Ararat last weekend. Wyatt Gawtry scored both touchdowns. The Clippers finished seventh in the large school South region, but just six teams made the playoffs.

“It was a challenging year with all the injuries we sustained,” said Yarmouth first-year coach Nick Orsi. “We had three key players tear their ACLs and more than half our starters were out with other various injuries. By the end of the year, we were down to two seniors playing and half the team were freshmen and sophomores. The kids really battled through but unfortunately, it was just too much to overcome.

“I think the good news is that so many of these kids gained valuable experience.  It reminds me a lot of my first year as an assistant at Yarmouth in 2021, where we had a similar situation with tons of injuries and younger guys playing and the next season, we won the state championship. We have a really strong younger class and will be bringing back almost our entire team next season. We should be pretty explosive next season.”

Kennebec Journal staff writer Dave Dyer contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. 

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